Lose It All
by divaofglass
Summary: A Hermione, Remus and Sirius Time Turner Fiction. During Hermione's sixth year, she stumbles across a bewitched time turner that sends her back to Hogwarts when the Marauders were students.
1. Chapter 1: Contraband

_Author's Note: I own nothing. Jo owns it all, and I'm envious every time I think about it, haha. Also, this story contains **spoilers** from the **first six books**, although it **may** contain spoilers from **book seven** in **some chapters**. If that happens, I'll put it in the Author's Note for that individual chapter, but consider yourself warned!_

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November 1996 

Hermione Granger was in the school library, putting away her research books before curfew—she had fifteen good minutes to spare before she had to be safe within the confines of the Gryffindor common room. It was not uncommon to find her in the library alone, studying until the final moments before curfew. As the best student in her year, she rarely afforded the opportunity to slack off on her studies, even if her two best friends, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, seemed quite skilled at skipping intellectual pursuits for a bit of fun more often than they probably should.

Other than her extraordinary aptitude, Hermione considered herself to be a rather ordinary girl. She was very thin and until her fourth year had a rather boyish body—it was only then that she finally began to fill out a bit. But she did not get the womanly figure that her friends seemed to gain in abundance—thin but not too skinny, she was pear-shaped and cursed with her mother's small chest. Her brown hair was frizzy and untamable, taking hours of work and hair product to smooth, so it was rarely worth the effort. Her teeth were still rather large, although beautifully straight and white, thanks in part to her dentist parents. Her brown eyes reflected upon her face the kind and caring demeanor she possessed under the surface, willing to fight like a tigress to protect those she loved.

Hogwarts boys seemed to find her invisible and while it bothered her at first that her pretty classmates got asked on Hogsmeade dates and made out with boy after boy in darkened corridors and she remained alone, she later conceded to herself that with NEWTs only a year and a half away, she rarely had enough spare time apart from studying and prefect duty for herself, let alone a boy. No, there was plenty of time for a boy filled life _after_ Hogwarts.

"Maybe I'm just really good at giving off that 'ice queen' vibe," Hermione mumbled to herself as she put _The Effects of Mood-Altering Potions_ back on the shelf. She began scanning the stacks to see if other students were there, to urge them to finish up before curfew, but found herself utterly alone with Madam Pince, the librarian. She was just getting ready to turn out the door for Gryffindor tower when she spied a book left out on a table in the rear of the library, and doubled back to collect it for Madam Pince, laughing at her inability to tear herself away from her favorite place in the castle. When she reached the table, she eyed a time turner sitting on it, next to a copy of _Helpful Hints for Time Travel_.

"Who left this here?" Hermione asked herself, "Time turners are illegal right now." She thought back to the events of last June, when she and her friends in the DA fought Death Eaters in the Department of Mysteries at the Ministry of Magic and all of the Ministry time turners were smashed. Apparently, when this large—and only, as far as Hermione was aware—collection of time turners were smashed simultaneously, it severely damaged the delicate threads necessary for time travel, making it highly dangerous.

While the Ministry was sorting out the problem, they forbade _anyone_ to travel through time. Whoever was the owner of this time turner was obviously preparing to leave for the past in complete disregard of the rules. Hermione wondered who would be so desperate to go back in time that they'd risk Azkaban to do it. Resolutely deciding to turn the contraband time turner over to Dumbledore immediately, Hermione snatched it and the book up and headed for the door. She handed the book to Madam Pince and turned to walk out of the library for Dumbledore's study.

Terrified of what would happen if anything happened to the time turner, she placed the necklace around her neck. Immediately, the tiny hourglass began to spin. At first Hermione was taken so aback that she didn't know what to do. She began to shout spells to make the turning stop, but nothing seemed to work. She couldn't take it off with it spinning as it was and was terrified of what would happen. When she had used a time turner in her third year, she used precise, careful turns of the hourglass to take her back mere hours in time. This hourglass was bewitched and spinning out of control, and nothing she could think of would make it stop. Frightened, Hermione began to scream. As the piercing sound rang out through the library and the empty corridor as she stood petrified in the space between the two, the turning stopped. Hermione breathed a sigh of relief that perhaps it was just a clever joke and reached to take it off her neck when her whole world went black.


	2. Chapter 2: What She Was Afraid Of

_Author's Note: This is another short chapter. This is my first fan fiction based on canon (I usually write pop band fan fiction) so I'm trying really hard to make it as close to perfect as possible. In fact, I'm kind of paranoid about it. In other news, though, I sketched out chapter three while I was at work today and it looks like it might be a decent length. Check out my author page for a cute graphic I made to go along with my story!_

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_Hermione awoke with a start as she found herself on the floor in the doorway between the library and the hallway. Breathing heavily, she reached to the chain hanging around her neck. "Shit!" she whimpered, touching the broken glass of the time turner. As she stood, she surveyed her surroundings and found nothing different from before she fainted—she began to wonder if it had all been a terrible hallucination. 

She started down the hallway toward Dumbledore's office when she saw Harry run past, laughing hysterically with a boy she didn't know. "Hey Harry, wait up!" she called after her best friend. Harry turned around and gave her a rather condescending look and kept walking.

"It's past curfew you know! Don't forget that I'm a prefect!" she yelled, slightly shocked at Harry's dismissive attitude.

"Yeah? And I'm Headmaster," Harry replied as his dark haired friend shook with muffled chuckles.

Furious, Hermione watched as Harry and his friend rounded the corner toward Gryffindor tower. As she pondered Harry's behavior, she began walking to Dumbledore's office. When she reached it, she gave the current password. "Fizzing Whizbee," she said to no avail as the gargoyle remained firmly in place.

Frustrated at the Headmaster for changing his password, she began to shout the names of other candied confection. "Acid Pops." The gargoyle remained frozen. "Cockroach Cluster," said Hermione as the gargoyle leered down at her. Dejected, she sighed, "Chocolate Frog" as the gargoyle shifted to let her pass.

She made her way into Dumbledore's study, finding him reading _The Daily Prophet_, pretty much useless dribble with a Ministry spin that seemed very unlike the Dumbledore she knew. "Excuse me, professor," she said determinately, holding the broken time turner in her hand.

"Well, hello," Dumbledore replied, peering down his crooked nose at her, "What are you doing out wandering around past curfew?"

"Sir, I was on prefect duty when I noticed something funny…" she trailed off.

"Prefect duty? Now that's quite a clever tale," he answered.

"Sir, I found a time turner on a table in the library. Madam Pince can vouch for me, Sir." Hermione couldn't believe that Dumbledore doubted her.

"Madam Pince?" Dumbledore asked, a stern look on his face.

"Sir," Hermione began to protest as a wave of realization suddenly came upon her, "What's the date today?"

"Why, it's the 17th of November, 1976. But I don't see what this has to do with…" Dumbledore began.

"19—19—1970—1976?" Hermione stuttered, most of out of her ordinary courage, "That's what I was afraid of."

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_**Reviews/Questions/Answers:**

Read my responses to your reviews and my answers to your questions from Chapter One, "Contraband," at the link below. All reviews and questions from "What She Afraid Of" will be answered with the next update. Remove the parentheses when pasting the link in your browser.

_www(.)divaofglass(.)net/portfolio/loseitallreviews(.)htm_


	3. Chapter 3: A Clever New History

_Author's Note: Thanks so much for all of the brilliant feedback. The kind words mean a lot. This chapter is longer, so hopefully, everyone will be satisfied for a few days… besides, Order of the Phoenix will be out in a few days (I'm going to midnight showing, yay!) so it should inspire me to write more. Enjoy!_

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November 1976 

"I suppose I should start from the beginning…" Hermione said, her pounding heart migrating up to form a knot in her throat.

"Yes, I generally find that is always a good place to start," Dumbledore replied, his eyes twinkling.

"Professor Dumbledore, Sir, my name is Hermione Granger. I'm a sixth year at Hogwarts in 1996. I'm a Gryffindor prefect. When I was on prefect duty, I found this discarded time turner on a table in the library," she explained, indicating the shattered time turner in her hand, "Time turners are illegal right now, Sir, so I put it around my neck for safe keeping before I could take it to you—well, the _future _you—when the hourglass started spinning out of control. I tried to stop it, but it was bewitched. When it stopped, everything went black and I woke up on the floor. The time turner was smashed, so naturally I decided it was best to come to you. Nothing really appeared or felt different to me, so I assumed that everything was as it should be. I don't know why I didn't want to believe that I had gone back in time—I guess I hoped that if it were just an elaborate prank that nothing truly bad would happen. Once you began to doubt why I was in your office, I realized that the reason you didn't trust me was because, well, you didn't _know_ me."

"Well, Miss Granger," began Dumbledore smiling, "It looks like you've gotten yourself into quite a predicament. Time turners are illegal, you say?"

"Yes, Sir. Last June, all of the Ministry time turners were accidentally destroyed. The Ministry is still sorting it out and until they do, time travel of all kinds is strictly forbidden. It's even punishable by Azkaban!" Hermione whispered, dread washing over her face, "You don't think?"

"No, Miss Granger, I don't think so. This was an accident. Surely the ministry will overlook a seventeen year old girl who did this unintentionally. They will determine the real owner of this object, I am sure." Dumbledore replied, his confidence slightly easing Hermione's fears, "An enchantment like the one used on your time turner was no doubt performed by a more powerful witch or wizard than a sixth year."

"I suppose you're right," Hermione said quietly, still trying to fathom she was talking with a twenty years younger Dumbledore. "What am I going to do?"

"Well, Miss Granger, you will have to return back to your time as soon as possible. Terrible things happen to wizards who meddle with time. Twenty years is a considerable amount of time to have meddled with—this makes things all the more dangerous for you. We will have to apply for a new time turner from the Ministry. Sometimes this process is quick and sometimes not. Given the gravity of your situation, I would expect they will make you a priority, but one can never tell with these things," Dumbledore said dismissively, with a wave of his hand.

"But Sir, what am I to do while I wait for the Ministry to send one?" Hermione implored.

"I should suspect you will want to continue with classwork. You will be able to travel back to the moment you left, so you will not fall behind, but I would venture a guess that someone intelligent and responsible enough to be a prefect wouldn't want to spend her time in the past lounging about," Dumbledore winked at Hermione.

"But what about the other students? They surely shouldn't know I'm from the future, but even if they think I'm from their time, what if they see me later in their lives, when I'm a student in my own time? If they were to become a professor or something… that would be difficult to explain. When I was a third year, Professor McGonagall arranged for me to use a time turner for my heavy class load, so I know that this is no light thing," stated Hermione.

"Very well put, Miss Granger, this is truly no light thing. Yes, I guess we shall have to put memory charms on all of the students and other professors before you leave, and you shall have to put one on me yourself right as you leave. Right. Well, we shall have to get a schedule for you—considering that you are transferring so late in the year, the professors will be most curious, so I shall notify them that you will be right at home no matter where they are in their lesson plans. Now… since saying you are a time traveler would be difficult for all, a backstory, perhaps?" Dumbledore suggested.

"Okay. My name is Hermione Gr—I mean, Hermione…" Hermione began, struggling to come up with a new last name, and finally choosing one from her mother's favorite film, _A Streetcar Named Desire_, "Hermione DuBois. I'm a transfer student from Beauxbatons Academy in France. I'm muggleborn, but my aunt was a witch. She and I lived together in France until she died unexpectedly last month and my mother ordered me back home to Britain to be closer to my home and remaining family." Hermione was rather proud of her on the spot story.

"That was rather good, Miss Granger—you have a very quick mind. Now, let's see… any more questions?" Dumbledore inquired.

"No, Sir," Hermione replied, "I mean, yes, Sir. What house am I to be placed in?" She was silently pleading to remain in Gryffindor.

"I assumed you would want to remain in your own house, but, if you would rather go through the formalities of being resorted, we can… although, I rather doubt the answer would change simply because of the date," Dumbledore replied as he lead Hermione out of the door.

"Thank you, Sir." Hermione said, smiling. "Oh, Sir… on my way to your office, when I was unaware that I had um… well, you know…"

"Yes?" Dumbledore smiled at her use of secrecy.

"I reprimanded two boys who were out past curfew. They ignored me and were rude, but now I know it's because I'm not really a prefect anymore." Hermione stated.

"I shall have to remedy the situation immediately, since such behavior would seem suspicious from a Beauxbatons transfer student on her first day," Dumbledore replied, his blue eyes twinkling, "Do you know their names?"

"Well, no. Both of them were tall and had black hair. One of them looked like my friend…" Hermione said, trailing off. A thought abruptly crossed her mind, and at first she dismissed it until realization began to sweep across her face. "Well, I guess it could be… Sir, I think one of them may have the last name… Potter."

"Ah, yes. Well, Mr. Potter certainly has the uncanny ability to find himself wherever trouble happens to be. I can imagine with near certainty who his accomplice was. Well, here we are," Dumbledore indicated as they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady. "Codswallop," Dumbledore said flatly as the painting opened to let them pass.

Hermione peered into the 1970s Gryffindor common room and saw that little had changed. A brown haired boy and a redheaded girl were sitting by the fire, studying from a Transfiguration textbook. It was nearly midnight and they were the only two still left in the room.

"Lily. This is Hermione DuBois. Could you please show her to the sixth year dormitory? Remus, please go upstairs and bring down your friends Mr. Potter and Mr. Black. Thank you," Dumbledore requested.

"Yes, Sir," both students replied. Staring at her old Defense Against the Dark Arts professor climbing up the stairs to the boys dormitories, Hermione turned to follow her best friend's mother up to hers.

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**Reviews/Questions/Answers:**

Read my responses to your reviews and my answers to your questions from Chapter Two, "What She Was Afraid Of," at the link below. All reviews and questions from "A Clever New History" will be answered with the next update. Remove the parentheses when pasting the link in your browser.

_www(.)divaofglass(.)net/portfolio/loseitallreviews(.)htm_


	4. Chapter 4: Good Morning & Good Luck

_Author's Note: Thanks again for all of the great feedback—I'm loving it, keep it up! ;) This may/may not be the last chapter before Deathly Hallows… but once it comes out, it will be my primary Harry Potter focus (as I'm sure it will be for all of you, haha). Enjoy the chapter and leave feedback! Mwah!_

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_Hermione followed Lily up to the sixth year girls dormitory, feeling oddly both in—and out—of place all at once. Hermione figured the familiarity was what seemed to put her at ease, although the nagging voice in her head that sounded eerily like her mum kept repeating like a skipping CD. "Hermione Jean Granger… this is all a dream… get a grip, come to your senses. Hermione Jean Granger… this is all a dream… get a grip, come to your senses." 

The entire situation seemed too surreal to be within _kilometers_ of reality—and yet, try as she could to deny it, Hermione had gone back twenty years in time. The Hermione Granger she _was_ didn't exist for another three years—her parents were finishing up dental school and set to be married soon, she knew that much—but _she_ just simply didn't exist in this time. And that thought was taking some getting used to.

It was strange being at Hogwarts and no one knowing her name, like stepping off the boat and into the Great Hall as a first year, all eyes on you as you wait to be sorted with a knot in the pit of your stomach. Wide-eyed and scared, you watch as complete strangers gawk at you with curiosity, hope, and amusement. That was what walking into the Great Hall was going to be like in the morning.

Lily Evans reached the landing for the sixth year girls dormitory and ushered Hermione into the room. Five four-poster beds stood in a semicircle around the room, each surrounded by lush red curtains. Lily gestured to the bed by the wall on the left hand side. "It's empty. We only had four in our class… this will be your bed, then, Hermione," she said, leading her to the vacant bed. "I sleep in the bed next to yours. My name is Lily Evans. Are you doing alright?"

"Yeah. I think so." Hermione replied quietly.

"Great. What's your schedule look like?" Lily inquired, patting her bed as if to ask Hermione to sit with her.

"Oh, it's rather full. I've got quite the busy schedule… you'll probably think I'm crazy," Hermione spoke with a half-hearted smile as she sat down beside Lily.

"Try me." Lily giggled, snatching the paper from Hermione's hand.

"Wow. I don't think I've ever seen anyone take this many classes before…" Lily began just a Hermione expected her to, "Except for maybe _me_. We've got all the same classes, except I have Divination instead of Arithmancy on Tuesdays and Thursdays."

"Excellent. I'm glad I'll have you to show me around. You know, when I was on the boat from France to London, I read through a bit of _Hogwarts: A History_ and I must say that some of the things about the castle sound rather confusing," Hermione mentioned with an air of innocence.

"It's not too bad, once you get used to it. With a classload like this, it will take no time." Lily smiled, "I guess we better get to bed so you'll be well-rested for your classes in the morning."

"Sounds great," Hermione said, crawling into her bed after conjuring some pajamas. But Hermione had so much on her mind she found it difficult to sleep—she was worried about the next day of class and if she would ever get home. Finally, she drifted off, just as the sun began to rise.

All too soon, Lily had pulled back the curtains and was beaming at Hermione with an incredibly upbeat look upon her face. "Good morning, Hermione. Ready for breakfast?"

"Yes," Hermione murmured groggily, turning back over and pulling the covers over her head.

"Doesn't much look like you're ready," Lily laughed, tugging the covers at the foot of the bed, "C'mon… you need to meet everyone… and you can't properly start the class day without Hogwarts breakfast."

"Alright, I'm up," Hermione yawned as she found the uniform and robes she had discarded beside the bed on the floor the night before. She dressed hurriedly, running her fingers quickly through her wild hair. Lily linked arms with her and they bounded down the stairs toward the Great Hall together.

Hermione sat down for breakfast next to Lily when James Potter and his entourage came walking up. Hermione studied James' face, a face that he had nearly given entirely to his son, Harry. "Good morning, Evans. You're looking beautiful this morning," James said, positively glowing down at Lily.

"Thanks," Lily replied flatly, her eyes never leaving her plate.

"That was rather unenthusiastic. However mate, she did say 'Thanks' this time. Maybe in a few more years you'll be able to have an actual _conversation_," said the boy next to James, his familiar laughter exploding like a deep bark. Hermione could hardly believe that the boy who had just spoken was Sirius Black. The Sirius that Hermione knew reminded her vaguely of the Sirius who stood before her, but this Sirius, happily with his best friends, unjaded by twelve years in Azkaban, jaw-droppingly gorgeous and the picture of youthful health—was shockingly different. Hermione realized she was staring at him more than she probably should, and averted her eyes to the floor.

James sat next to Lily, who immediately wiggled her way closer to Hermione. A small boy with watery eyes sat down across from James—Peter Pettigrew, Hermione figured—Remus Lupin sat beside him, and Sirius, to Hermione's horror, took the seat across from her. She felt his eyes drinking her in and blushed embarrassedly under his intense gaze. It was Remus who finally broke the tension at the table.

"I'm sorry, but last night I don't think we were properly introduced. My name is Remus Lupin. You are?" he asked, his beautiful green eyes filled with mirth.

"Hermione. Hermione…" she hesitated, "DuBois. Pleased to meet you, Remus."

"Ah, but the pleasure's all _his_ really, darling. I'm Sirius Black," Sirius said, a smile playing across his lips.

"It's nice to meet you too, Sirius." Hermione responded.

"MynameisPeter," mumbled the boy to Remus' right in a hushed tone.

"C'mon Peter, she's a girl, not a dog… speak up!" James said, kicking Peter in the shin from under the table. Peter let out a little yelp as James continued, "I'm James. What brings you to Hogwarts so late in the term?"

"I'm a transfer student. From Beauxbatons. In France." Hermione answered James, poking at her toast with a fork absentmindedly.

"DuBois. That's French, right? And you went to a school in France. Yet, you sound quite English. A bit odd, isn't it?" Sirius implored.

The words "smartass" and "arrogant" flashed in Hermione's mind as she glared at Sirius. "Yes, DuBois is French. It means _made of wood_. Yes, I went to a French school, and yes, I'm quite English, I've lived in England over half of my life. My mother and father grew up in France, they moved from Paris to London before I was born for my father's job. I'm a muggleborn, but my Aunt Bernadette was a witch and was educated at Beauxbatons. My parents hated that I was 'strange' like Aunt Bernadette and forbid me to study magic. After all, I had been to the best muggle schools in London my whole life—my parents have never understood why I wanted to study magic when I seemed so well-suited to 'normal' school. So, Aunt Bernadette asked them to let me live with her in Paris. They said that if I left to live with her, I would no longer be welcome in their home. So, despite everything, I went to Paris. I lived there for nearly eight years—until Aunt Bernadette died last month, rather unexpectedly. My parents knew they couldn't leave me homeless, and of course, wanted me to live with family, so they ordered me home. Naturally, since I hadn't had any proper muggle schooling in five and a half years, I was going to be dreadfully behind. So, they relented and let me come here. There's much they can do at this point, even if they hate it. And now, Sirius, are you satisfied?"

"Thoroughly," he replied, biting into his toast and jam with a wink. Hermione shook her head in disgust.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were a Francophobe, Sirius. And I'm sorry I had to bore the rest of you with my life story…" Hermione sighed, staring down at her plate.

"No, it's quite alright. We would've found out eventually anyway… friends talk about these kinds of things," Remus responded with a broad grin. Hermione shot a glance over to Lily, who was looking rather uncomfortable with a furrowed brow as James made efforts to grab her hand. "Well, I'm glad you're at Hogwarts, Hermione. I hope that your first day goes well. What classes do you have today?" Remus queried.

"Charms, Transfiguration, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Arithmancy," Hermione answered as a rush of owls swooped into the Great Hall.

"Great! I have the same schedule today… you should sit by me!" Remus said, excitement lighting up his features. Hermione made a move to answer as a large tawny owl dropped a note in front of her.

_Hermione,_

_I have spoken with all of your professors. They will have books to loan you for the time being and understand that you may have trouble getting into the swing of things. I also contacted the Ministry this morning about what we talked about last night. I will keep you informed as to the status of the situation. Good luck today._

_A.D._

Hermione slipped the note into her pocket and smiled at the kind headmaster up at the head table as she turned to finish talking to Remus.

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_**Reviews/Questions/Answers: **

Read my responses to your reviews and my answers to your questions from Chapter Three, "A Clever New History," at the link below. All reviews and questions from "Good Morning & Good Luck" will be answered with the next update. Remove the parentheses when pasting the link in your browser.

_www(.)divaofglass(.)net/portfolio/loseitallreviews(.)htm_


	5. Chapter 5: Making New Friends

_Author's Note: I hope you all read Deathly Hallows and enjoyed it as much as I did. Order of the Phoenix is still my favorite, but it was a great book. A few things in the grand scheme of my story will have to be changed, but I've already worked out how—don't you just love canon? Anyway, enough rambling—thanks so much for your continued support! I love you all from the bottom of my heart! Leave more feedback… and a new chapter is coming soon after this! _

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"So. James, Sirius… what were you two up to last night that Professor Dumbledore had to call you down to his office?" Hermione inquired.

"Well, that's really none of your business, is it?" Sirius responded, Hermione gritting her teeth as the words "egotistical" and "rude" seemed to flash in neon above Sirius' dark hair.

"It's no big deal, really, is it Sirius? We were just out on a little twilight stroll 'round the grounds." James smiled with a cocky look upon his face, "You should come sometime, Lily. It would do you some good to loosen up a little."

"James Potter, one day, I'm going to scourgify that presumptuous mouth of yours," Lily replied with disgust as they entered Professor Flitwick's Charms classroom.

"Sounds delightful. Where do I sign up?" James answered smugly as he moved to take a seat beside Lily. Lily looked at Hermione, her eyes pleading.

"Remus, perhaps I can sit with you later… in Arithmancy? I think I'll sit by Lily," Hermione said calmly as Remus quietly sat next to Peter and James reluctantly found his place next to Sirius. Hermione felt awful about not sitting next to Remus when she had agreed to, but Lily's gratitude was evident in the new relaxed look upon her face.

Professor Flitwick's Charms class had changed little in twenty years, and Hermione found herself comfortably at ease in the class… it was almost as if she had never left. Transfiguration with Professor McGonagall sailed by smoothly as Hermione had to fight the temptation to answer every question McGonagall asked. It wasn't as if a new girl from Beauxbatons _couldn't_ know the answers, after all, magic wasn't taught all that differently at _most_ institutions.

Hermione recalled her first year at Hogwarts and how she had had trouble making friends because she was, even she admitted, a bit of a know-it-all. The more she thought on it though, the more she realized that the reason she didn't want to actively participate in class was that she was afraid that Sirius—conceited, terrible, Sirius Black—would find her arrogant as well.

The itch became more than she could bear during Defense Against the Dark Arts with Professor Stuart, when she answered his question about countercurses. Lily looked at Hermione and smiled, and then she gave a glance to the table at her left. Hermione followed Lily's gaze and met Remus' eyes, shining with pleasant surprise. It was in this moment that Hermione decided that answering a few questions did not _really_ make her arrogant, merely intelligent, and that if anyone found intelligence arrogant—well, she was wasn't going to be here all that long, was she?

When Hermione walked out of Defense Against the Dark Arts, it seemed as if everything was going well—except for the dull ache in her heart for her own time. "Well, Hermione, I'll meet you in the common room?" Lily asked as she headed toward the Divination tower.

"Yeah!" Hermione called after Lily as she headed in the direction of Arithmancy.

"Need help finding the way?" Remus questioned, falling in step beside Hermione.

"Yeah, I guess so. I just had a hunch that it would be this way…" Hermione started as she glanced to Remus.

"How intuitive. Are you sure you aren't supposed to have Divination right now? You seem like a natural…" Remus said, a smile creeping on his face.

"Ha ha. It was just luck. Lead the way, maestro?" Hermione laughed as Remus directed them toward Arithmancy. They took seats at the same table near the front of the classroom. Just as Hermione didn't know the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, she didn't know the small old witch at the front of the class. And, just as she had done three times already that morning, Hermione stood up at her seat to introduce herself to the class. "My name is Hermione DuBois. I'm a transfer student from Beauxbatons Academy in France."

"Welcome to Hogwarts and NEWT Arithmancy, Miss DuBois. I'm Professor Montague," said the professor as she gestured Hermione to sit and turned to the blackboard at the front of the room. As Hermione made to sit, she noticed just how small the class was—even smaller than her own Arithmancy class—and that she and Remus were the only Gryffindors there.

"Montague's extremely nice, but a real stickler for showing all of your work, step by step, in your essays," Remus whispered in Hermione's ear, the feel of his breath making her shiver. Throughout the rest of the lesson, Hermione would look at Remus out of the corner of her eye to find that he was looking at her too. She could feel the blush creeping up on her cheeks.

Slightly ignoring Professor Montague's lesson, Hermione began thinking about the people who she had been sharing her day with. In her time, three of them were dead. She had never known James and Lily—Harry's parents—and judging from the way they acted around each other, she couldn't really see how they ended up together, unless there was some truth in the saying that great loves were often born of great hatreds. Hermione could tell that despite Lily's adamant protesting, she was probably attracted to James. Peter—well, she was unsure of what happened to him, but figured he was probably hiding out somewhere under Voldemort's thumb. Sirius, haughty though he was… it had been only five months since the battle at the Department of Mysteries that had cost him his life. Hermione missed him dearly—although she reasoned that a lot of her pain was because Harry was hurting so deeply. And Remus… unable to find work because of his lycanthropy—work in the traditional sense, anyway—working for the Order fulltime with all of his friends dead and gone. The sounding of the end of class bell brought Hermione back to her senses.

"Are you alright, Hermione?" Remus asked.

"Yeah, just thinking about my friends at Beauxbatons," Hermione said quietly as Remus held open the door for her.

"Oh, well… I'd imagine they miss you too…" Remus replied genuinely.

"I hope so." Hermione whispered, thinking of Ron and Harry and wondering if they had noticed she was gone.

"Dinner starts in about half an hour. I hope I'll see you there…" Remus said as they reached the Fat Lady. "Codswallop," he said to the painting.

"Indeed," she answered, sliding open to allow them to enter Gryffindor common room.

"Sure," Hermione said as she reached the stairs to the girls dormitories, "Thanks for everything, Remus."

"You're welcome," Remus replied, his gaze shifting to the floor.

Hermione entered the sixth year girls dormitories to find Lily already on her bed, her thick red hair falling into her face as she read through a muggle fashion magazine. "How was Divination?" Hermione asked.

"Great… Professor Thompson had a really great lesson for us today. How was Arithmancy?" Lily inquired, closing her magazine.

"It was alright. I think I'm just worn out from my trip here. I'd love to take a nap. Anything interesting going on?" Hermione queried, pointing to the magazine.

"Well, apparently, lace is in this winter and straight leg jeans are on the way out. Not that I'm home enough to care…" Lily laughed, sitting up in her bed. "What did you think about everyone? I know they probably aren't the nicest bunch. But Remus and I are closer than I am to anyone else in our year, and he likes the rest of them quite a lot. I worry that James and Sirius are a bad influence on him, but Remus is pretty together…"

"They all seem nice. Well, _you're_ amazing. I've never had any really close girl friends. James is so in love with you… but he's certainly going about it the wrong way. Peter is so quiet, which Sirius more than makes up for, and Remus is really sweet." Hermione summarized.

"Ha. James Potter wouldn't know tact if it hit him in the face with all of the force of a bludger," Lily said as Hermione laughed, "Peter _is_ rather quiet, but he's a nice guy. Sirius, well, you can see why he and James get along so well. Two peas in a vain pod. You know, I think Remus likes you."

"Me? Lily, I think he's just being friendly… he wants to make sure I get used to a new school," Hermione replied, her voice pitched slightly higher than usual.

"I'm just saying. I've known him for six years. I think there's a little more going on than him being friendly. C'mon, let's go to dinner so we can get started on homework." Lily said, taking Hermione by the arm.

Hermione tried to push what Lily said out of her mind, but found it increasingly difficult as they entered the Great Hall for dinner, where the quartet of sixth year Gryffindor boys was waiting for them. Remus' kind smile pierced her thoughts, James ruffled up his hair and she swore she saw Sirius wink. What if Lily was right? Could she fancy her future professor, when, in a few days, she would be back in the future and while she would remember him, he'd never remember her?

Despite the fact that her head told her that to do so would be crazy, she was terrified of what might happen if her heart said, "Yes."

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**Reviews/Questions/Answers:**

Read my responses to your reviews and my answers to your questions from Chapter Four, "Good Morning & Good Luck," at the link below. All reviews and questions from "Making New Friends" will be answered with the next update. Remove the parentheses when pasting the link in your browser.

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	6. Chapter 6: Interlude: 1996

_Author's Note: Well, here's the deal. The biggest complaint I get (which is thank God, not really all that bad) is that my chapters are too short. I like all of my chapters to have a cohesive feeling. One thought. This makes them a little short to some, but I find them perfect. And since I write everything out by hand first, I guess they seem all the longer. Anyway, what I'm trying rather inarticulately to say is, for this update, you're getting two chapters for the price of one. Chapter Six, which is an interlude into the future and Chapter Seven, back with the Marauders, lay before you. Comment away. Much love to you all!_

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_November 18, 1996. _Days missing: 1._

As Ron and Harry left their last class of the day—a grueling double Potions—they really began to worry about Hermione. It had seemed out of the ordinary when she missed breakfast and morning Herbology. But when she missed lunch, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and the aforementioned double Potions, mere concern shifted to a deep unease.

It was unlike Hermione to miss class, especially without warning. "She'd have to be on her deathbed, mate. And even then, she'd fight Madam Pomfrey all the way to class," Ron commented as they made their way to the hospital wing.

"Yeah. Did she seem ill to you last night?" Harry asked as they entered the spacious room.

"No, not really. But she didn't stay up to get a 'head start' on her Muggle Studies essay, I was expecting to see her in the common room when I went down to finish Snape's Dark Arts essay, but she wasn't there. I just figured she'd kipped off to bed early—I mean, she has a week and a half to finish that essay, and it's not as if she doesn't know anything about muggles, honestly…" Ron concluded, trailing off as Madam Pomfrey emerged from behind a closed white curtain.

"First years falling off their broomsticks during flying lessons. This group of first years has had more flying injuries…" Madam Pomfrey stopped suddenly, her eyes wide, flustered with acute awareness that she had been talking aloud to herself. "Hello boys. How can I help you out?"

"Madam Pomfrey, have you seen Hermione Granger today?" Harry inquired as he looked into the kind face of the school nurse.

"Why no, Harry, I haven't. Is she ill?" she questioned, concern in her voice.

"We don't know. Thanks anyway." Harry answered.

"Thank you!" Ron called as they walked out of the hospital wing. "Blimey, Harry. I thought for sure she would've at least _been_ to the hospital wing. I just can't see her missing class without being sick… it's very… _un_-_Hermione_."

"Maybe she's asleep in her room," Harry supplied, positive it was the only place she could be.

"Let's hope so," Ron added as they climbed the stairs toward Gryffindor Tower. Just as they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown stepped out.

"Parvati, Lavender… have you seen Hermione?" Harry implored.

"No," they answered in unison.

"She's not… up in the dormitories?" Ron asked, a lump growing in his throat.

"No," they responded in unison, a scowl on Lavender's face as she turned up her nose and they walked down the stairs.

"Bloody Hell, Harry, where else could she be?" Ron demanded, his voice rising higher in panic.

"I don't know. But I think we should go see Dumbledore. And then after that you should probably go talk to Lavender… I think she nearly turned green," Harry suggested, leading the way to the Headmaster's office.

"Yeah, she'll probably withhold snogging until I assure her that I don't like Hermione—girls. Fizzing Whizbee," Ron shouted at the gargoyle outside of Dumbledore's office as he and Harry reached it. The gargoyle sprang to life and slid to the side to allow them passage. They walked gingerly into the Headmaster's study, finally spying him staring intently into his pensieve. It was Ron who broke the silence.

"Professor Dumbledore… we hate to bother you, but it's about Hermione. She's…"

"Missing," Dumbledore interrupted, eliciting looks of shock from Harry and Ron. "Rufus Scrimgeour was just in my office. It seems that Miss Granger has gone back in time. The Ministry received warning around 11:00 last evening that someone in Hogwarts used a time turner to illegally go back in time. After careful investigation, it was determined that Miss Granger had been the one to use the time turner. Most unfortunately, time travel has become so dangerous and unreliable that the Ministry has been unable to trace her whereabouts. Now, boys, can you think of any reason why Miss Granger would want to use a time turner?"

"Hermione wouldn't do anything illegal, it must be a mistake!" Ron exploded.

"Ah, but you see Mr. Weasley, she returned a copy of _Helpful Hints for Time Travel_ to Madam Pince just before the incident occurred. The evidence is, regrettably, not in her favor," Dumbledore replied solemnly.

"Perhaps the book belonged to someone else. She was on prefect duty last night, Sir," Harry chipped in.

"I'm not saying that I believe that Miss Granger did this in complete disregard for the law. But until she returns, there is little more than blind faith to support her innocence. Let us hope that what has happened was merely an accident. Otherwise, I fear the worst," Dumbledore surmised, putting his wand to his head to extract a memory and placing it in the pensieve. Ron and Harry took this as their signal to leave. They walked silently out of Dumbledore's office, not speaking until they had rounded the corner into the hallway.

"What if she _did_ mean to go back?" Harry conceded quietly.

"What do _you_ mean, 'what if she meant to go back?' Harry, this is Hermione we're talking about here. Whatever she might need to go back for, she wouldn't risk Azkaban to do it! I can't believe you'd even suggest…" Ron spewed venomously.

"Keep your voice down. I doubt Dumbledore wants everybody knowing about what happened. Look, it's not like I'm taking the Ministry's side here… it's just that, I've never known time turners to act of their own accord," Harry sighed.

"I should've gone with her last night. We were supposed to be on duty together. I still had two feet to write on that Herbology essay—and _all_ of Snape's essay—so Hermione said she could handle it alone. I shouldn't have let her go alone, Harry. This is _all_ my fault!" Ron bellowed, trying poorly to choke back his emotions, "If she gets chucked into Azkaban because of me…"

"She _won't_ get chucked into Azkaban, Ron. We all know that there is no possible way that Hermione would have done this willingly…" Harry said consolingly, although the edge of doubt in his voice betrayed the fact that he knew that logically, this sentiment could not be right.

_

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_**Reviews/Questions/Answers:**

Read my responses to your reviews and my answers to your questions from Chapter Five, "Making New Friends," at the link below. All reviews and questions from "Interlude: 1996" will be answered with the next update. Remove the parentheses when pasting the link in your browser. 

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	7. Chapter 7: Notes And A Scandal

_Author's Note: This is the second chapter of my super-fantastic-thanks-for-being-amazing-readers-two-for-one-bonus-special. Enough hyphens? _

_

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_Hermione talked very little during dinner, absorbed in her own thoughts. She felt like she was being split into a thousand pieces. She, who usually had everything together, was completely at a loss. She listened half-heartedly to the plethora of conversations going on around her, wishing she knew a spell to make all of this easy. It was difficult to maintain her alibi, difficult to pretend to know nothing about the place she was living or the people she was living with. Every breath felt like a lie, every word spoken seemed stolen, unfair. 

She desperately wanted to tell them who she was—who she _really_ was—but knew that she could not. She had barely touched the food on her plate and longed for a place to hide away. It was only when she noticed her companions rising from their seats that she realized that dinner was over. As Lily, James, Peter, Sirius, and Remus started walking, Hermione felt herself falling behind, enveloped in her deep thoughts. James said something that caused Sirius' head to throw back in vigorous laughter. Remus smiled broadly in appreciation and used a hand to brush a lock of hair away from his face. Peter shook violently with giggles while Lily tried her best _not_ to laugh. It was quite cute, really, watching James and Lily bicker when she knew their future.

Suddenly, Remus had fallen back from the group and beside Hermione. He put his hand on her shoulder as he turned to her. "Hermione, are you doing alright? You didn't seem well during dinner."

"God," she thought, "Why does he have to be _so_ nice?" She smiled up into his green eyes, "Oh, I just have a lot on my mind. I'm fine."

"Is there anything I can do for you?" Remus volunteered sweetly. There it was again. Hermione couldn't understand why girls were falling all over themselves around Sirius when Remus was right there beside him, and so absolutely _wonderful_.

"No, but I wish there was," Hermione emphasized as Remus slid his arm around her shoulders in a half embrace as they continued walking. Hermione was intensely aware of the feel of his arm around her and felt both at ease and nervous in the same stroke. Remus sensed her tension and awkwardly pulled away, shoving the offending hand into his pocket. Hermione wanted to say, "It's not you, it's me," but found her throat seemed to be closed.

Remus still walked beside her, but stared uncomfortably in the other direction, wondering whether his protective gesture was too much and if she would ever smile pleasantly up at him again. He cleared his throat and turned to Hermione. "We were going to sit in the common room and work on our assignment for Slughorn's class—he teaches Potions—you're welcome to sit with us. I know you haven't had his class yet, so if you wanted to stay in your room…"

"Remus, I'd love to," Hermione articulated swiftly, the slightly dejected look Remus was wearing changing with nearly the same speed as Hermione's rapid-fire response. They were standing in front of the open portrait of the Fat Lady, someone had already spoken the password and everyone else in their party had entered the common room, apparently leaving Remus and Hermione to their own little world. Hermione shook her face from side to side as she snapped back into reality. "We should probably go in," Hermione offered.

"Yeah," Remus agreed, holding his arm out to ask Hermione to go first. She climbed through the portrait hole and into the common room and Remus followed. As they stepped into the light of the room, Sirius and James, sitting on one of the couches, began to wolf whistle. Remus looked petrified and a rich blush began to creep up on Hermione's cheeks. She turned and sprinted up to her room, leaving Remus to face scrutiny alone.

She sat down slowly on her bed, her breathing heavy, a frustrated scream dead on her lips. Nothing, absolutely _nothing_ was going on—James and Sirius were annoying jerks and Remus seemed no different to her than he had always been—sweet to a fault, willing to bend over backward to have everyone love him. Perhaps Sirius and James were just ribbing Remus because they knew they could get to him—not because they actually saw anything there. Yes, that must be it—boys irritating and embarrassing one another for sheer enjoyment. There wasn't anything there anyway—just hospitality and smiles, as far as Hermione was concerned. Anything else was just a figment of imagination.

"Did something happen?" Lily asked, coming up from behind Hermione.

"Oh, it's silly. I embarrass so easily. James and Sirius were just being immature, that's all," Hermione replied smoothly.

"Immature?" Lily inquired, smiling.

"Oh, well, it's just… well, what you said about Remus before dinner, about him liking me. He and I were talking and I guess we fell behind, but when we came through the portrait, Sirius and James started whistling at us," Hermione recalled, sighing and wringing her hands.

"I'd expect nothing less coming from James and Sirius. I think I was more mature at _birth_ than they are now. I still think that Remus likes you, but, I'm sure you'll decide in time whether you believe it. Until then, don't worry about anyone else. Remus is a great guy," Lily explained.

"Lily?" Hermione whispered.

"Mmm?" Lily responded.

"Do _you_ like Remus? I mean, like _that_?" Hermione asked.

"Well, of his friends, he's the only worthwhile one out of the bunch. But we've always been the best of friends, nothing more. Remus had a difficult childhood, and when he got here, he was so worried that no one would want to be his friend. My sister Petunia barely speaks to me anymore. We help each other through the rough patches, you know? He's an incredible ally. I think you all would be great for each other," Lily acknowledged, lightly raking her fingernails across Hermione's back and giving her a pat.

"You really think so?" Hermione queried.

"Definitely," Lily asserted warmly, "Are you coming to sit with us in the common room for a bit while we work on Slughorn's essay?"

"I wouldn't miss it," Hermione professed. Lily and Hermione made their way downstairs to Gryffindor common room, which had become decidedly quieter since Hermione's flight upstairs. James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter were sitting around a table with their Herbology textbooks open when they saw Lily and Hermione enter the room.

"Hello Lily… Hermione," James drawled, gesturing to two empty seats across from him around the table. He gave a sly smile as he said Hermione's name—clearly they weren't finished giving Remus a hard time. Lily took the open seat next to Remus, which Hermione later gave her an appreciative hand squeeze for, leaving for Hermione the open seat between Lily and Sirius. Hermione was dreading sitting next to Sirius, but anything was better than causing Remus further embarrassment.

The boys switched out their textbooks, picking up their copies of _Advanced Potion-Making_, which Hermione recognized as the very same book they were currently using in Slughorn's class. They turned to the pages on Felix Felicis, causing Hermione's blood to rise. She had yet to really forgive Harry for cheating to win his vial and it looked as if in twenty years Slughorn hadn't really altered his teaching methods.

"So, Lil', what are you going to do when Slughorn hands you over that bottle of Felix?" James questioned, eying Lily across the table.

"Well, if I _do_ win, which I _won't_, I can assure you that what I do with it will have absolutely _nothing_ to do with you," Lily spat, burrowing her eyes in the passage of text in front of her.

"Maybe Remus'll win. He could use to get a little lucky." Sirius quipped through choked laughter echoed by James and Peter. The other half of the table sat in silence, glaring at the three stooges in front of them.

"I know what I'd do with it, if I won. It's too bad I'm crap at Potions," James ventured, an evil smile playing on his lips as he stared at Lily.

"You'd need more than a lucky potion, James," Lily stated angrily, gripping her quill tightly as she brought it to the parchment to write her name. "What's really too bad is that Hermione isn't able to enter."

"Well, I'm not exactly _great_ at Potions, but we brewed this my last term at Beauxbatons," Hermione elaborated, letting the lie fill her up.

"I bet you would have won then, since you're already such an _expert_ at it," Sirius said, winking at Hermione. Just then, one of the girls that Hermione had seen that morning in the dormitories came slinking over to the table.

"Hey, Sirius," she spoke in a breathy tone, placing her arms around him. She moved in close behind him and began running her fingers through his hair.

"Mmm… hey Francesca," Sirius purred throatily, closing his eyes, "How are you tonight?"

"I could be better, but I see you are too busy with your friends. Oh well… goodnight," she said in her deep, sultry voice as she kissed Sirius' cheek before sashaying upstairs.

Suddenly, Lily passed Hermione a note. "Francesca Kelley. She's in our year. She's never really been nice to any girls, except for Colleen and Katherine, who _worship_ her. She's really nice to the guys though… probably slept with half of the males in the castle, including professors. But Sirius is her favorite." Hermione slid the paper into her bag and made a mental note to stay away from Francesca Kelley when she noticed the pained look on Sirius' face, clearly angry he couldn't be with Francesca right now instead of at the table doing homework.

After Francesca's departure, the room fell to a dim roar. The younger students were finishing their homework, leaving only a handful of students outside of the sextet working on their Potions essays. They read in silence, occasionally pausing to ask one another questions. Hermione began doodling on the scrap of parchment in front of her, mainly just squiggles and her name, easing the boredom of having nothing to do but run in her head over and over again the events of the last twenty-four hours.

It was when Hermione had written her name for the thirtieth time that she felt something brush her stationary left hand. Looking down, she spotted Sirius' finger sliding slowly along her own. She turned to him, ready to spout something laced with malice when his finger moved as he pulled a blank bit of parchment out from under his book and began to write on it.

"Hi…" Sirius wrote as his eyes met Hermione's. No sooner had his quill left the page had the words disappeared.

"What do you want?" Hermione wrote back, hoping he'd sense the anger through the words. She watched as her own words also disappeared.

"Whoa… easy, brown eyes. Just want to chat. You look bored," Sirius wrote, the corners of his mouth lifting in a smile.

"Clever deduction, Mr. Black. Riddle that one all out on your own?" Hermione wrote quickly, her eyes scanning the table to make sure no one could see what they were doing.

"You're a bit of a smartass," he responded.

"You're a bit of an asshole," she wrote back, offended.

"You know, I don't have to sit here and let you insult me," Sirius scribbled.

"Well then, stop." Hermione wrote resolutely.

"What's the fun in that?" Sirius jotted down as the others put the finishing touches on their essays and slammed their books closed.

"G'night, I'm off to bed," Peter voiced through a yawn, the first words he had spoken all night.

"I think I'll be heading off as well…do you want to come up, Lily?" James requested with a smile, knowing what the response would be.

"Why should I want to come upstairs with you?" Lily replied, closing her book and rolling up her parchment.

"Why wouldn't you?" James answered, laughing all of the way upstairs.

"Ugh, I can't stand him sometimes…" Lily muttered, picking up her books after pushing in her chair.

"Only sometimes?" Sirius said, laughing heartily as he wrote on the parchment, "_Stay_."

"Alright, perhaps that's an understatement," Lily conceded, laughing.

"Lily, I think I'm off as well. You coming, Sirius?" Remus inquired.

"Neh, I'm having some trouble with the last bit of my essay. I'm just going to finish it on up… I'll be up in a few minutes. Don't wait on me," Sirius urged.

"Alright, mate. Goodnight Lily…" Remus paused at the foot of the stairs, "Hermione. See you in the morning."

"Hermione, are you coming up to bed?" Lily asked, standing by the door to the girls dormitories.

"Actually, I thought I might stay and help Sirius finish up. I know all about Felix Felicis, and this way, he'll get to bed soon as well. I'll just be a few minutes. See you upstairs?" Hermione answered.

"Sounds great. Goodnight, Sirius. See you soon, Hermione," Lily said, turning up the stairs.

"G'night, Lil'," Sirius called after her, turning back to the parchment. "Nice job lying. I'm proud."

"Grow up," Hermione wrote back.

"Ah, but you like it," Sirius noted.

"You've got a poor measure of things," Hermione answered, seething.

"No, I think I'm doing quite well," Sirius wrote laughing.

"Why aren't we speaking? No one else is down here. We're quite alone. This seems a touch ridiculous," Hermione wrote.

"Well then, stop," Sirius scratched, winking at Hermione.

"Fine, I will," Hermione wrote, throwing down her quill. "You are such a child," she said sternly.

"Now, that's a bit harsh," Sirius wrote.

Hermione was furious that he was continuing to write on that stupid parchment when she clearly wanted to have a verbal conversation. "You're just angry that I'm not falling all over you like Francesca and your other groupies. I'm not interested in you, Sirius. You're haughty and arrogant and selfish and egotistical…"

"Thanks for the vocabulary lesson, love," Sirius wrote.

"In fact, I think you're jealous and a bit baffled that someone could prefer another guy to you. Well guess what, Sirius… I'd rather be with anyone in this school than you. I'm sorry you won't get to add me to your collection," Hermione sputtered angrily.

"Don't flatter yourself, darling. You're not really my type," Sirius scribbled as Hermione pivoted and headed upstairs. Sirius repulsed her more in that moment than anything else Hermione had experienced. Yet, despite her loathing, Hermione felt herself fighting back tears. What Sirius had written was rude and insensitive, but even more angering was the fact that a small part of her actually _cared_.

She shut the door to the sixth year girls dormitories, thankful Lily hadn't stayed up for her, and changed quickly into her pajamas. Sliding between the warm covers, Hermione closed her eyes, wishing that her new life wasn't so utterly confusing.

_

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_**Reviews/Questions/Answers:**

Read my responses to your reviews and my answers to your questions from Chapter Six, "Interlude: 1996," at the link below. All reviews and questions from "Notes And A Scandal" will be answered with the next update. Remove the parentheses when pasting the link in your browser.

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	8. Chapter 8: Fortune Favors The Brave

_Author's Note: Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry that it took so long to get a new chapter up. I was putting in a lot of overtime at work, and then I left for school. I'm on campus helping the freshmen move in, class starts Tuesday. After this update, I'm going to try my best to update, but they will probably be less frequent—unless those Chemistry labs end up being less terrifying than they sound. Also, I've done some massive updating at my website, and I'm looking for affiliates and hostees. I have the link in my profile. Thanks for your continued support, I love you all!_

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Hermione didn't feel much up for talking the next morning as she got dressed. She wasn't even sure whether or not she really _wanted_ to talk to Lily about Sirius—after all, with Harry and Ron as her best friends, this girl talk thing was still new to her—but she did know that were she to talk about it, it wouldn't be in front of Francesca and her minions. She watched in silence as, for the second day in a row, Francesca, Colleen, and Katherine chattered amongst themselves, apparently oblivious to the fact that there was a new person sleeping in their dormitory. 

Lily, uncomfortable with Hermione's quiet and the trio's disclusion of them, broke the silence. "Umm… Francesca? Col? Kath? I know you all were in Charms yesterday, so you all know about Hermione being a new student. But I figured she should be properly introduced to you all, since we're living together…"

"Hi, I'm Katherine," began the Asian girl as she slipped on a pair of high heels, "It's good to meet you, Hermione."

The girl sitting on the other side of Francesca shifted to reach to her hairbrush, "Yeah, it's really good to meet you, I'm Colleen," she contributed, brushing her long, dark brown hair with measured strokes. But Francesca said nothing, merely giving Hermione the once over with her icy blue stare, twirling a lock of her platinum blond hair around her finger. She was beautiful, almost super-humanly so, but it was her attitude more so than her extraordinary looks that was off-putting. Hermione could tell, from this simple introduction, that Francesca would probably never be her friend, and that it really wouldn't be worth the effort to try.

"Lily, let's go to breakfast…" Hermione requested uncomfortably.

"Yeah, sounds great." Lily replied, rising from her bed to join Hermione down the stairs to the Great Hall. But breakfast was no more comfortable as an awkward tension permeated the air. Remus was sitting with the group, but as far away from Hermione as possible, clearly not eager for a repeat of last night.

"Poor Remus," Hermione thought, "I hate that I cause him embarrassment." Just as the words ran through her mind, Sirius took the seat across from her. Either he was unaware of how he hurt her, or, he was precisely aware of how she was smarting from his comment and didn't give a damn. They stared at each other, gray eyes on brown, each one daring the other to speak.

"Good morning, Sirius. Sorry I left you last night, but I was really tired. Did you finish up your essay alright?" Hermione inquired sweetly, no one at the table the wiser.

"Oh, yeah. Thanks for _everything_, darling." Sirius mused as he shoved his toast in his mouth with an arrogant smile. Hermione slid a sideways glance to Remus, whose face was etched with sadness. Clearly, it was "Be An Asshole To Your Friends Day," and Sirius was getting himself a head start.

"Whatever do you mean, Sirius?" Hermione asked.

"Oh, you know, for helping me out with my essay," Sirius commented nonchalantly, spreading butter and jam on a second piece of toast. Relief registered on Remus' pained face as Hermione looked Sirius dead in the eye.

"Oh, well, it was nothing. I told you that last night. No need to bring that up again, Sirius," Hermione answered. She knew Sirius wanted to provoke her, but she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction—at least, not in front of everyone else.

"Well, I can't help but sing your praises. You were _spectacular_," Sirius declared, winking with his left eye so that only Hermione could see. Anger was threatening to bubble over, coursing though her veins like a deadly arsenic.

"Really, Sirius. I think that's quite enough. Everyone can see that I'm quite ordinary… the bullshit's a wee bit unnecessary." Hermione responded, feeling as if every pair of eyes within earshot were focused on her.

"Stop, you're being modest," Sirius laughed, brushing a stray strand of black back from his eyes.

"Did you not hear her the first time she said 'Stop,' mate? You're making her uncomfortable. She should know she's wonderful without you telling her," Remus added, the first words he had spoken all breakfast. Lily's eyes were wide and Hermione's tense jaw slackened with astonishment. Immediately, the other three boys burst out into laughter—clearly, they weren't finished giving Remus a hard way to go.

"It's okay to be a smartass with me, but it's not okay to act that way toward girls," Remus criticized, blushing furiously.

"Ah, but you really mean _your_ girl," Sirius guffawed loudly.

"_Any_ girls," Remus stated sharply. Hermione mouthed an appreciative thank you in Remus' direction.

"Wow, look at the time. We should be getting to class," Lily interjected awkwardly.

"Need an escort, Evans?" James asked, holding out his arm dubiously for Lily.

"Hardly," Lily hissed, pushing to the font.

"Well, it was worth a shot, wasn't it?" James questioned aloud to no one in particular. Hermione and Remus remained seperate from the group—and each other—both eager to avoid more confrontation. Peter walked over to Remus and began talking animatedly about Herbology and Hermione sighed with content as another crisis was averted—until Sirius fell into step beside her.

"Good morning, Love. Sleep well?" he taunted, grabbing her hand.

"Let me go, Sirius," Hermione murmured under her breath, eyes on Remus as she attempted to wrest her hand from Sirius' firm grip.

"Now, you see… I think we got off on the wrong foot here," Sirius grinned, lacing his fingers with Hermione's.

"You think?" Hermione shot back, furiously trying to pry her fingers loose.

"Let's start again. My name's Sirius Black, and you are?" he asked mockingly, leaning in closely to Hermione.

"Not interested," she entreated.

"Pleased to make your acquaintance, Miss Not Interested," Sirius laughed as Hermione broke free from his grasp.

"You're such a prat, Sirius," Hermione exclaimed, folding her arms across her chest.

"Yes, but you love me," Sirius consented as Hermione nearly choked with a cough.

"No, I'm afraid not," Hermione challenged bitterly as she moved away from Sirius.

"You say that, but do you mean it?" Sirius quipped in return, clearly basking in the self-importance that he drew from his cleverness.

"I've never been surer of anything in my life," Hermione mentioned flatly.

"You're mad about me, Brown Eyes, just admit it," Sirius snickered, his mouth broadening into a toothy grin.

"Quit calling me that. And no, contrary to the fantasy you're currently screening in your twisted mind, I'm not in love with you. In fact, I'd venture a guess that I'm no closer to being in love with you than you are with me," Hermione retorted.

"Whatever you say, Brown Eyes," Sirius replied as they entered the Herbology classroom, Hermione speeding to the front to stand beside Lily. Hermione took a seat at the end of one of the long rows of tables, guaranteeing no unwelcome Sirius-type company.

She had to stand up and awkwardly introduce herself again, but other than that, it seemed like Herbology—except she longed to hear Neville's voice alongside her own, answering Professor Sprout's questions. Hermione couldn't believe she had gone this long without thinking of home. A wave of guilt washed over her until she read a note that Lily, sitting to her right, passed.

"Hermione," the note started, "During Potions you should sit with Remus. I really think he wants to talk to you. Ignore James and Sirius. If it weren't for Remus I wouldn't spend five seconds with them—they're terrible." Hermione slid the note beneath the cover of her Herbology textbook. When class ended, she and Lily walked feverishly back up to the castle.

"Hey Lily… so if I sit by Remus, where are you going to sit?" Hermione questioned Lily through staggered breath.

"Oh I'll sit by Peter or someone else. Trust me, you all need to work this out, because I don't know if I can handle another breakfast quite like that," Lily added with a smile.

"I _know_. Sirius is being such an ass, and I can't fathom why," Hermione lamented as they turned to corner toward Slughorn's Potions classroom.

"Well, I maintain that he's a robot and he's been programmed to ruin all lives except for James Potter's. But… what about Remus coming to your defense? Wasn't it adorable? Although, I was a little bit shocked because Remus usually lets them get away with murder. He's about as non-confrontational as it gets," Lily professed.

"It _was_ rather sweet," Hermione admitted with a sigh.

"Precisely. Now, go sit down. See you after class?" Lily inquired, sitting near the back.

"That would be great," Hermione noted as she sat near the front of the nearly empty classroom.

Remus, James, Sirius, and Peter walked in, Remus eyeing the empty chair beside Hermione and approaching with caution. Just as the quartet of Gryffindor boys walked in, a gang of Slytherins entered behind them. One face seemed so prominent, so familiar, when she realized she was staring at a sixteen year old Severus Snape. Mouth agape, Hermione looked at her professor's younger personage in a mixture of fascination and disbelief. Young Severus Snape was no Sirius Black or James Potter, commanding a room with their mere prescence, but there was something else equally arresting about him. It wasn't looks or charm, but some factor kept Hermione's gaze fixed on Severus' face. Perhaps it was power. He was even smiling—albeit a haughty smile—and he seemed to be the center of attention amongst his friends.

"Is this seat taken?" Remus asked in a hushed tone.

"Shit!" Hermione jumped, realizing that not only was she staring a little too hard at Severus Snape, but that Remus (and the rest of the class, for that matter) had probably noticed. "No, it isn't."

"Can I sit with you?" Remus requested, a slight pink flush on his face.

"Of course, Remus," Hermione answered, gesturing to the open seat.

"I didn't mean to scare you, Hermione," Remus spoke huskily, leaning in in a near-whisper.

"Don't worry about it. I was just a little dazed. All of the smells here in the… dungeon," Hermione stammered.

"Yeah, you get used to it," Remus laughed, back to himself. Hermione suddenly felt lighter with Remus just sitting beside her, happy for the first time all day.

"Thank you. For this morning," Hermione whispered into his ear, drinking in the sweet smell of his shampoo. Apples.

"No problem. It was the least I could do," he whispered in return, the words tickling her ear. Slughorn trudged into class then, carrying with him a tiny golden vial of Felix Felicis.

"Good morning. Could everyone please pass forward their essays and… well, hello," Slughorn stressed as he turned to Hermione, "Are you the new student Dumbledore spoke of?"

"Yes, Sir. My name is Hermione DuBois," she offered, standing, "I'm a transfer from Beauxbatons Academy in France." Hermione noticed Snape harshly eyeing her, eerily reminiscent of Francesca's glare earlier that morning.

"You must be tired of saying that by now," Remus spoke softly into her ear as Hermione took her seat.

"Yeah, just a little bit," Hermione answered as the class passed forward their parchment.

"Well, we had several very good attempts at brewing Felix Felicis. Excellent, excellent submissions from all of you. Especially Mr. Lupin, Miss Evans, and Miss Prynne. However, the most successful potion was brewed by Severus Snape, who gets this little bottle of luck, and through it, one _perfect_ day. Well done, Mr. Snape," Slughorn announced.

The rest of the class was a flurry of lecture, punctuated only in Hermione's mind by Remus shifting in the seat next to her. Keenly aware of everything, her breath heavy and mind wandering, she was pleased when the bell sounded, ending class. As she stood, Remus stood beside her, placing his hand on her forearm. "Are you heading to lunch, then?" he asked.

"Yes, I think so. Are you?" Hermione inquired.

"If you are," Remus revealed.

"That sounds lovely," Hermione stuttered, flushing profusely as they walked to meet Lily at the back of the classroom. Lily was talking to Snape, her face taut.

"I'm sorry, Sev. I wish I could." Lily finished as Remus and Hermione walked up.

"Hello, Lupin." Severus sneered, black eyes shifting from Remus to Hermione.

"Severus," Remus responded as he lead Hermione out of the tense classroom. Lily followed.

"Lunch?" Lily queried.

"Definitely," Hermione replied as Remus smiled down at her.

"Hermione….?" Remus asked.

"Yes, Remus?" Hermione replied.

"Would you like to study Arithmancy with me this weekend? You know… until you get the hang of Montague's style," Remus sputtered.

"Wouldn't miss it," Hermione smiled bravely, eager to spend just a few more moments with Remus.

* * *

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	9. Chapter 9: Reflections

_Author's Note: Hello Lovers! It has been forever, but I'm back… and I promise with a vengeance because I had forgotten how much I absolutely love this story and everything about it! You'll probably need to re-read it to get caught up (I know I did!) I hope you enjoy this chapter, more to follow soon… as always, leave some feedback. I'll be responding to it on my new website, I just secured a host, wahoo! _

_I also apologize in advance for the shortness… but there is a point to it (you'll see), and we all know how I feel by now about each chapter having a cohesive feel to it. Hugs for all!_

* * *

Hermione stretched lazily in the Saturday sunshine creeping in the window overlooking her bed. She yawned as she rose from her bed, slowly dipping a toe at a time over the edge to the floor. Lily was still asleep and Hermione didn't feel the urge to wake her. Getting dressed silently, she walked down the winding staircase and into an empty Gryffindor common room. Running her fingertips over the smooth wood of a table, she stared outside to the world below.

If she didn't know any better, she would expect Ron and Harry to come bounding down the stairs at any moment, eager to take in breakfast. Staring longingly at the stairs that led to the boys' dormitories for a few more seconds before darting her eyes back to the castle grounds, Hermione decided to talk a walk to clear her head.

The crisp autumn day was surprisingly warm, the sunlight hitting Hermione's skin, its glow radiating the feeling of a new day. Hermione let out a heavy sigh as she reached the lake, sitting under the shade of a tree. As she tried in vain to skip rocks across the lake, she finally felt the solitude she needed to really riddle out her thoughts.

She first turned her mind to thoughts of Harry and Ron, of Ginny and Neville, Luna and Hagrid. Did any of them miss her? What was happening in the present? Was the Ministry searching for her? Were her parents notified? Were they worried and confused? Was Harry still using that stupid Potions book?

That one made her chuckle a bit to herself, since in the present, it had pissed her off, but now, in the present of the past, it seemed trivial compared to the rest. For the first time, she started to wonder about the reason why she had gone back to the past. Who in Hogwarts would have risked Azkaban to go back to the past? And why this moment? Clearly, it would have to have something to do with Voldemort… it seemed nearly everything did. But why November of 1976? Nothing extraordinary had happened since Hermione had been there. At least, nothing Voldemort and his cronies would probably find exciting. Hermione bit her lip in frustration as she fought to bring logic into a nearly irrational situation.

"What are you thinking about?" asked a voice from behind Hermione, startling her. She slowly turned and looked up into the kind green eyes of Remus Lupin.

"Oh, nothing too dreadfully important…" she replied, the lie leaving a bitter taste in her mouth.

"Mind if I join you?" Remus queried as he made the move to sit down, "It certainly looked important."

"Oh, well, I have this tendency to get wrapped up in the most mundane of things… it's frustrating, really…" Hermione responded as Remus stretched out his legs in front of him, "What if I had said 'no' about the joining me thing?"

Remus smiled broadly, "It was a formality, more than anything. If you mind… I can leave you to your thoughts."

"No, please stay," she requested, surprised and ashamed at how eager her voice sounded. To make matters worse, an uneasy silence had settled upon them. "So…" Hermione interjected, reaching for something to talk about, "I've never been to Hogsmeade before. We get to go next weekend?"

"It's pretty fun. I will definitely show you around. It's kind of nice to get away from the castle every once in a while," Remus said, looking at the horizon. Hermione smiled, knowing that Remus got away from the castle whether he liked it or not once a month.

"Now that's the smile I like to see…" Remus laughed and Hermione joined him until another awkward silence permeated the air. They both turned their attention to the lake and Hermione shifted her numbing legs as she tried to think of something to say. As she wetted her lips with the tip of her tongue in anticipation of mentioning studying Arithmancy later, she felt Remus' hand brush up against hers. The words dead on her lips, she sucked in her breath in shock. As he slid his hand over hers, her pulse began to quicken and her face flushed when his large and lightly calloused fingers laced with hers.

As her breathing settled into its natural rhythm and the muscles in her face relaxed in contentment, she gazed at Remus out of the corner of her eye, his eyes fixed on the horizon once more. And, for the first time in her life, Hermione found that she didn't need words.


	10. Chapter 10: Interlude: 1996

Author's Note: Thanks so much for all of the brilliant feedback

_Author's Note: Thanks for all of the positive feedback on the last chapter. I'm absolutely beaming with pride. I promise that I'll have a longer flirtation filled chapter coming up soon… probably later tonight or sometime tomorrow. Enjoy, loves!_

_--_

November 20, 1996. _Days missing: 3._

Ron woke up with a start that Saturday morning, drenched in sweat. His breathing labored, he sat up and grabbed for one of the posts on his four-poster bed. Squeezing the cherry wood until his knuckles turned white, he closed his eyes for the briefest of moments before gaining the composure to stand and get dressed.

Harry, Dean, Seamus, and Neville were all still asleep, Neville muttering something as Dean let out a snore. Ron glanced over at Harry, who lay there tossing and turning. Deciding to riddle this one out on his own, he stepped down the stairs and into the Gryffindor common room. The day was a foreboding gray as he stared out the window at the grounds. Grabbing his jacket from the corner coat rack, he walked outside into the chilly autumn morning.

Ron walked down to the lake and took up shop next to a tree—not the Whomping Willow, of course—and sat there for the longest time without a single cohesive thought running through his mind. A jumbled-up mess, he didn't really know how to account for his feelings. He missed Hermione, that was certain—the nightmare he woke from justified that emotion. The dull ache in his heart reminded him of when he got frostbite playing in the Christmas snow as a young child, taking off the mittens his mother had forced him to put on. First his hands felt raw, then they burned and went numb before he could scarcely feel them at all, the dead weight of his fingers a reminder of his childish error.

But, it wasn't like they hadn't been separated before. Christmas and summer holidays, periods of fight and then making up—absence really wasn't a stranger to their friendship. Something about this situation and the depth with which he longed for her company felt different to him. Ron picked up the nearest stone and threw it angrily at the lake, shivering as he pulled his jacket more closely around him.

He leaned back against the tree and closed his eyes, picturing his two best friends in happier times. Harry and Hermione were everything to him—a fact that his non-emotional front had a hard time swallowing. As he watch the scene unfold in his mind, Harry and Hermione laughed, a smile spreading across her face.

Ron found himself smiling then, at this innocent memory. The smile warmed him from the inside, the pain temporarily washed away in the image of her smile. It was only then that Ron thought guiltily about Lavender. The smile vanished from his face as he turned once more to blankly stare at the castle grounds, images from his nightmare replaying in his head.

Turning a few minutes later to the sound of leaves crunching on the ground behind him, he saw Harry walking down the hill. Harry solemnly looked down at his friend and asked, "How are you holding up?"

Ron responded, his words weighted with his confused thoughts, "I miss her." Harry said nothing but nodded in agreement, joining his friend on the hard cold earth.


End file.
